Network
A couple of weekends ago, staff at Peltier Chevrolet in Tyler, Texas arrived to work in the morning to find 48 of their vehicles sitting on blocks and hundreds of lug nuts strung across the pavement, as all of their wheels had been stolen.
Police reports confirm that the thieves snuck in a secured gate near the back of the dealerships’ storage lot and started their heist by killing off the lot’s brightest lights. Security footage shows a large truck arriving in the middle of the night but, because it was so dark, police were unable to determine how many suspects were involved. Doesn’t this sound like a mission straight out of GTA?!
Similar incidents have occurred across the state and it seems these particular thieves are no stranger to the use of an impact gun. Coincidence? I think not! Over the course of approximately four hours, they managed to remove over 1,000 lug nuts and 196 wheels and tires- thats about one wheel every 75 seconds. Most of these vehicles were left sitting on blocks or wood pieces, while there were a few sitting directly on the pavement.
The majority of the wheels that were taken were fairly large, ranging from 20-22” in diameter, making them worth quite a bit of cash, and some vehicles were slightly damaged in the process. The dealership estimates around $200,000 to $250,000 in losses, but is still working on a more exact estimate and dealing with insurance.
It has to be pretty hard to hide 196 wheels and tires, but police have yet to find the thieves or the stolen inventory.
